HAMPTON, Va. — Several people are grieving the loss of Craig Boone, the VDOT safety support worker who was killed in Hampton Sunday.
Friends and former classmates are filled with emotions following Boone's death.
“My friend is gone because somebody wanted to drink and drive,” said Boone’s friend Benjamin Davis.
“I’m going to miss his text messages, checking on me,” said Dionne Copeland, another friend of Boone.
Police said 27-year-old Alana Diamonde crashed into a VDOT service vehicle parked on the right shoulder of I-64 in Hampton Sunday. The impact killed Boone, who was helping another driver.
“You took away a person that the community needed,” said Davis.
Tuesday, Diamonde stood behind a video screen as a Hampton judge read her charges to her. She told the judge she had hired a lawyer. She declined our request for an interview.
Court documents said a state trooper found two vehicles with heavy damage on I-64 at Big Bethel.
The criminal complaint said the trooper performed a breath test on Diomande, and noted she had a blood alcohol concentration of nearly double the legal limit.
Now, Copeland and Davis are recounting their fondest memories with Boone. They’ve known him since their days at Manor High School in Portsmouth and they refer to him by his nickname, "Bread."
“A beautiful spirit,” Copeland said. “I don’t think there wasn’t a room he could enter without making someone smile.”
“'Bread' is the funny comedian… a good friend, a confidant,” said Davis.
They describe him as a helper, a family man and lover of music. Copeland said he had only been working as a contractor for a couple of months.
“This man cared,” Davis said. “He cared about his community. He cared about his family first. He cared about his friends.”
One of his many long-time friends was Grammy award-winning artist Missy Elliott.
“He loved us and we loved him,” Davis said.
“I just pray he didn’t suffer,” Copeland said. “His face just keeps coming to me.”